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Land Use Based on BLM land ownership maps, most of the Little Snake River basin is federal land. There are five small communities along the mainstem river (Baggs, Dixon, Savery, Slater and Battlecreek) whose combined population is less than 1,000. Rangeland and grazing constitute the primary land use. While the number of ranches have increased in the basin, the average size of the ranches and the total acreage being ranched and farmed has decreased. Some gas and oil production occurs in the basin. The potential impacts of gas, oil and coal mining, and coal-bed methane on the water and related land resources are unknown, but could be extensive. Historic grazing which resulted in vegetation removal and soil surface disruption has contributed to the high sediment yield in the Little Snake basin. Cattle grazing reached its zenith in this region in 1889 (USFS 1936). During the ensuing 35 years, the Colorado River at the Grand Canyon experienced the period of highest annual flows in its recorded gage history. Following 1942, a 62% decline in annual sediment load was observed at the Grand Canyon gage (Schumm and Gellis 1989). Less runoff, soil and water conservation practices and improved grazing practices have all contributed to a reduction in the sediment yield in the upper Colorado River basin. Overgrazing in the Little Snake basin effected riparian and wetland areas as well as the desert shrub and grassland vegetative communities. In some riparian areas, where livestock tended to concentrate, reproduction of cottonwoods has been eliminated (COE 1988). However, photographic evidence suggests that a decrease in grazing acreage and improved soil conservation practices have reduced channel incision in the tributary basins. Hydrology More than half of the drainage basin of the Little Snake River is in Wyoming. The major tributaries include Battle Creek, Slater Creek, Savery Creek, Willow 12